Grinchmas in Canora was held on November 24 at Kids Korner Youth Centre.
The idea behind the event was to provide a fun family day for the community, said Tricia Bedore, Kids Korner managing director.
“We wanted to do something different that would draw people from other communities to see that Canora has a lot to offer young families,” said Bedore. “While the event was originally designed to be one of our main annual fundraisers, we were determined to make it an event that would be fun for the entire family, from baby right through to grandma and grandpa, something we could do year after year and possibly build into a tradition for local families.”
Bedore said there were a variety of games and activities for young and old to enjoy.
Cindy Lou Who provided all children with a Whoville Passport which they used to navigate through all the activities. Upon completion of a game or activity there were stamps provided to stamp that page in the passport, with the goal of completing all the available activities and games.
“We provided a table containing loose parts and each child decorated a small prize bag with his or her name on it to carry all their creations and prizes,” said Bedore.
In the “Cindy Lou Who bean bag toss,” participants tried to toss a bean bag through either the Grinch’s heart, Max’s Antler or Cindy Lou Who’s tree ornament.
“Grinch punch out” is a game with 27 spots to punch out. The participants chose which circle to punch and got to keep whatever was inside that spot, including toys, games and treats. The spots were large cups covered with a piece of tissue paper, secured by a rubber band.
Bedore said activities were included that encouraged the creative side of the children, including “Create your Who family tree.”
“We provided about 150 different size shaped tree layers for the families to colour, creating a whimsical Who Tree depicting the members of the family that attended Grinchmas,” said Bedore.
Children could create their own Grinch mask on a stick by colouring it and adding various embellishments to it.
“Each participant got to make a Grinch ornament by filling a clear plastic tree ornament with their choice of three different types of fill, adding a red glitter heart, and putting on a “who-ish” pipe cleaner hanger to take home to add to their own Christmas tree,” said Bedore.
Various samples, loose parts and pipe cleaners were provided for children to create sculptures and bracelets.
Participants had the opportunity to play “Pin the Heart on the Grinch” which is a variation of “Pin the tail on the donkey,” but using a heart and large picture of a Grinch. The heart pinned closest to the target won a Grinch tree ornament.
The candy cane hunt was another popular activity.
“We had an aquarium, about 5 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot, and we filled it with balls,” said Bedore. “We then buried a variety of candy canes among the balls. Players were blindfolded and reached in to retrieve a candy cane. If it had green strips they won a medium prize and got to keep the candy cane. Solid green was worth a large prize and getting to keep the candy cane, but if the candy cane had no green at all, the player only got the candy cane.”
Bedore said the “Freeze Dance” was a favorite among most of the children, and a number of adults as well. After his arrival, the Grinch also participated.
“While music is playing everyone dances,” said Bedore. “When the music stops you must freeze. The last person to stop moving is out and it begins all over again. This continues until there is only one person left, the winner.”
The games and activities were followed by the “Who Feast.”
The menu included: “Roast Beast” with glazed ham, strip loin roast beef and gravy; “Who Hash” with enhanced mashed potatoes; “Grinchy Greens” including green bean bundles wrapped in maple bacon and baked in a sweet glaze; “Schlots Knots” which are fresh baked dinner rolls; children’s dessert consisting of a “Mini Who” pudding, mini cupcake and a container of decorations for the desserts, and adult dessert options including cupcakes, bad banana pie and more.
Bedore acknowledged the support of several local businesses for their contributions to the “Who Feast.”
After the meal, popcorn was provided to go with a showing of the original 1966 animated movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Bedore said a number of volunteers put in many hours of work to make “Grinchmas in Canora” possible.
Maureen Babb created the costumes for the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who. Erin Saunders prepared and donated the adult deserts.
Jake Travalia was the Grinch, while Erika Sweeney played the role of Cindy Lou Who.
Other volunteer workers included: Ebonie Martin, Eric Sweeney, Erin Saunders, Jocelyn Maddaford Collingridge, Maranda Donovan and Cayleigh Ives.
